The stunning renovation of the former Cactus Cafe and the new home of Over the Wall. Scallop tacos in a hand-pressed tortilla.
OVER THE WALL Come Visit Our Tasting Room & VT Gift Shop Open Mon.-Sat. 10 a.m.-6 p.m.
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632 LaPorte Rd., Morrisville, VT 802.888.9400 rockartbrewery.com
New restaurant fuses Latin, Asian flavors Over the Wall, which opened last spring on Stowe’s Mountain Road, offers a subtle fusion of Asian-Hispanic flavors, and its owners’ hope is that the fusion of two disparate cultures will help break down the barriers between people and cultures through food and drink. At the very least, start some conversations. Owner Kim Kaufman, in a letter to the Stowe Reporter newspaper, said she and her partner Jimmy Goldsmith chose the name Over the Wall to honor the food cultures and people who live south of the proposed border wall. “As we prepared our menu, we added flavors from Asia, also to highlight the culinary accomplishments of that part of our world. … we believe the walls of our society need to come down and that good food is a way to bring people together,” wrote Kaufman. The restaurant is the latest, and third restaurant project from Kaufman and Goldsmith. The Blue Donkey is just down the Mountain Road in Stowe, while their 10 Railroad Street and Railroad Café anchors one end of Portland Street in nearby Morrisville. Goldsmith told Seven Days newspaper that Over the Wall “will channel a polished, grownup vibe. Our goal is to create an adult space for people to stop, have a small meal or a drink with friends, go on a date night.” The margarita and spirits list would whet
anyone’s palate. You just might have to go back every night for a week to work through the inspired specialty cocktail choices. The kitchen team at Over the Wall switches up the offerings, but over the past months, the fusion menu has featured mouthwatering choices from a Barbacoa lamb shank with fried sweet plantains and braised chili leaks, to a smoked beef brisket with apple endive slaw and polenta. Yum! The ever-evolving menu offers inspired choices for sides outside of the usual fare—beef bulgogi, sweet chili fried shrimp, smoked chicken tinga, crispy pork belly, creamy polenta—and everything is housemade. Small plates are inspired, from margarita shrimp (tequila lime glaze and green onion) to a banchan (a mix of kimchi, spinach salad, and bean sprout salad), and from a soba noodle salad (enoki mushrooms, seasonal vegetables, and a miso vin) to crab beignets (with choux pastry and a sweet chili aioli). Mix and match a few tapas and fuse together your own meal. And, start the conversation. n //////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// ESSENTIALS: Daily. 2160 Mountain Rd., Stowe. (802) 253-9333, overthewallvt.com.
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